Lab Operations Specialist

Cambridge, MA USA · Alewife, Cambridge · USD 68,000-102,667 · 3+ years experience · Onsite · Posted Sep 28, 2026

At a glance

The Lab Operations Specialist serves as the operational backbone for LILA Sciences, managing equipment, spaces, materials, and logistics.
This role involves overseeing equipment lifecycles, inventory programs, and vendor relationships while supporting the setup of new lab spaces.
The specialist will improve lab processes, onboard scientists to workflows, and mentor team members as the organization scales.

Own equipment lifecycle, including preventive maintenance, calibration, troubleshooting, asset tagging, and CMMS tracking.
Coordinate equipment installs, setup, moves, relocations, decommissions, and specialized or heavy-lift installs.
Manage consumables, PPE, gas, dry ice, cold-storage programs, and inventory systems.
Coordinate shipping, receiving, courier, warehouse, sample, and equipment logistics.
Partner with Design and Facilities on new lab spaces, layouts, bench allocation, and room conversions.
Manage vendor relationships, service scheduling, installation logistics, and the Lab Ops support-ticket queue.
Respond to equipment and cold-storage alarms.
Support EH&S and Procurement on compliance needs.
Lead lab-efficiency improvements.
Mentor Lab Operations Associates and onboard scientists to lab operations workflows.

3+ years of experience in lab operations or lab management.
Experience managing and troubleshooting scientific equipment, including PMs, calibration, installs, and moves.
Strong technical and functional skills with the ability to manage priorities across multiple projects.
Experience with lab inventory, asset, or work-order systems such as CMMS, ChemInventory, Jira, or Notion.
Experience coordinating vendors for service, installs, moves, and logistics.
Excellent communication, organization, and problem-solving skills.
Working understanding of lab safety practices and comfort partnering with EH&S on waste streams and compliance.
Ability to lift up to 40 lbs, work hands-on, and move around the lab for extended periods.

5S, Six Sigma, or other process-improvement training.
Chemical safety background, biohazard waste handling certification, or OSHA/HazMat certification.
Experience with equipment install or relocation projects, CMMS administration, or vendor management.
Experience supporting lab automation, robotics, or high-throughput environments.
Background in chemistry, biology, materials science, or a related field.